G20 leaders agree joint declaration after deal on Ukraine statement

The G20 leaders have agreed a joint declaration, Narendra Modi announced on Saturday, alleviating fears that disagreements over the Russia-Ukraine war would prevent a consensus for the first time.

Speaking at an afternoon session of the G20 summit in Delhi, the Indian prime minister said he had “just got the good news that due to the hard work of our teams and your co-operation, a consensus has been reached on the New Delhi G20 leaders’ summit declaration”.

To loud applause, Modi said the declaration had been officially adopted.

He said it meant this year’s G20 was “the most ambitious in the history of G20. With 112 outcomes and presidency documents, we have more than doubled the substantive work from previous presidencies.”

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The declaration signifies a major win for India, which holds this year’s G20 presidency. It has been a particularly challenging year for the group, which represents the world’s largest economies, as Russia and China had proved intransigent in discussions around the Ukraine war, climate and energy, derailing attempts for a consensus in previous ministerial meetings.

Until Friday night, there had been no agreement on how to refer to the Ukraine war in the joint statement and the section in the draft document relating to the “geopolitical situation” had remained blank. European countries were keen to use strong language to condemn Russia’s invasion but Russia and China had opposed any reference to the war. The Chinese delegation had also objected to a reference to the US holding the G20 presidency in 2026.

According to reports, on Saturday morning Indian officials sent a redrafted paragraph relating to the Ukraine conflict to the G20 leaders which it appears was accepted by all members.

Amitabh Kant, India’s G20 representative, said there was “100% consensus from all countries” on all 83 paragraphs in the declaration.

According to Kant, in order to reach a consensus, there was “very tough, very ruthless negotiations, which went on for several days non-stop and I really feel that in the end it was clinched because of the leadership of the prime minister”. Kant said that Brazil and South Africa, the next two G20 presidents, had played a key role in the negotiations.

However, in order to get Russia and China to agree to sign the declaration, there was a noticeable softening of the language around Russia’s role in the Ukraine war compared to the declaration signed at last year’s G20 held in Bali and the document directly mentions the “different views and assessments” by member states on the conflict.

The New Delhi declaration leaves out any direct mention of Russian aggression and majority condemnation of the war, instead simply stating that “all states must refrain from the threat or use of force to seek territorial acquisition against the territorial integrity and sovereignty or political independence of any state. The use or threat of use of nuclear weapons is inadmissible.”

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[ Ukraine braces to receive tens of thousands of Jewish pilgrims amid war ]

The Ukrainian foreign ministry said on Saturday the G20′s joint declaration was “nothing to be proud of” and criticised it for not mentioning Russia.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko posted a screenshot of the relevant section of the joint declaration, with several pieces of the text crossed out in red and corrected with wording that reflects Ukraine’s position that it is a victim of unprovoked Russian aggression.

“It is clear that the participation of the Ukrainian side [in the G20 meeting] would have allowed the participants to better understand the situation,” he wrote on Facebook.

Despite his disappointment with the overall G20 text, Nikolenko thanked Ukraine’s allies for doing their part to advance Ukraine’s position in the declaration.

“Ukraine is grateful to the partners who tried to include strong formulations in the text.”

Among the other issues addressed in the joint statement are agreements around climate financing, cryptocurrency, reform and expansion of multilateral development banks and a new “green development pact” among member states.

Kant said the declaration was the “most ambitious document on climate action” so far, with commitments to triple renewable energy capacity globally by 2030 and a statement that developing countries will need $5.9tn (£5.3tn) in funding to achieve their climate targets. However, there was no new language on the G20’s efforts to move away from fossil fuels, with the member states – which are home to 93 per cent of the world’s operating coal power plants – committing only to a “phase down” of coal. - Guardian, additional reporting from Reuters